The Petrol Plot

The Pandora is running low on fuel, and desperate times call for desperate measures. The CCCP Zeppelin "Vostok" is escorting a fuel-laden tanker (the "October"), close enough that the Fortune Hunters can get the drop on it, but stealing from a ship heavily guarded by patrol boats, fighters and a Zeppelin is never an easy deal...

Watch Briefing


Recommended Plane
Something reasonably nimble will be most useful, particularly if it can carry a decent heavy weapon load as well. The always trustworthy Devastator is the standard choice, but the Fury and the Brigand work well, too, especially in their default, .70-cal carrying configuration.

Recommended Loadout
Bring one load of HE for your objectives, and fill the rest of your racks with flak.

Walkthrough
From your spawn point, you will be exactly in front of your first objective - the lighthouse's generator. This is inside the big island's generator cave, and you can fly though this cave (it leads to an opening above the patrol boats' harbour) to complete your first stunt. Usually, a single HE rocket will destroy the generator. DO NOT destroy the lighthouse first, because this will only cause an electrical fire that makes the lighthouse flicker. 4 BAS Peacemakers will notice your gang and start shooting from Northwest. Take them out as quickly as you can, to gain some time in order to perform some or all of the remaining stunts, before the tanker "October" hits the rocks.

Shortly thereafter, there is a funny dialog between the lighthouse, Captain Jacobs of the patrol boats and October's Captain. After that, the tanker runs aground and the Pandora makes her approach. However, the lighthouse sends 4 patrol boats in support, and Sparks will inform you that you need to sink them for the Pandora to approach the tanker's crash site. You can ignore the patrol boats though, (they don't inflict much damage to anything) and deal with the first wave of 4 Russian Devastators that the "Vostok" launches (2 after the dialog ends, and 2 more after the tanker cries "Mayday!"). The Vostok will launch the fighters earlier (and maybe more of them) if you shoot down any of her engines before the patrol boats spawn.

When all the patrol boats are eliminated, the Pandora will begin moving again towards the tanker, and when you hear Sparks telling you he's attached to the tanker, the Vostok will launch the second wave consisting of 3 Russian Devastators. At this point, if you destroy the planes quickly, you can shoot down 7 of the Vostok's 14 engines (Betty is wrong when she later tells you to destroy 6 of them), before your Zep has finished loading fuel. If you achive this, there will be no more fighters out of the Vostok! On the other hand, if you don't achieve this and when Sparks tells you that he's disengaging from the October because he has finished refuelling, the Vostok will launch 3 more Russian Devastators.

At this point, you have two options - try to finish knocking out 7 of the Vostok's engines, or put a rocket into the October's hold. You can't do the latter until Betty suggests it, so if you're in bad shape, stay outside the zeppelin's killzone until she does. Once you do one of these and destroy all remaining fighters, complete any stunts you may have missed and dock with the Pandora to end the mission successfully.

Scrapbook Bonus
While you're fighting the first wave of 4 Russian Devastators and the patrol boats, Big John warns you that the tanker launches an escape boat that tries to secure some of the cargo. You cannot target it like you target objectives, enemies or friends, but if you manage to sink it in time, you get a bonus "Worker's Paradise Vodka" etiquette in your scrapbook!! It will head southeast, away from the tanker so immediately look down there.

The Vostok
It's really fun to show off your skills by destroying all enemy fighters and completely crippling the "Vostok" Zeppelin before you destroy any of its gasbags! To achieve this, you must know the zeppelin's attributes:

-5 Gasbags long (Nose & Tail included) -14 Engines (7 in each side) -12 Broadside Cannons (6 in each side) -1 Nose Anti-Aircraft Gun (not manned) -2 Tail Anti-Aircraft Guns (not manned) -8 Side Turrets (4 in each side) -3 Belly Turrets

After you clear out every enemy aircraft, try to take out all of the engines until the Vostok remains dead still. Next shoot and destroy every turret and the anti-aircraft guns. You can now enjoy a completely crippled Vostok standing still! However, the only way to destroy the zeppelin at this point is to fire aerial torpedoes on 3 of the gasbags. (which means you need to have them from the loadout before the mission starts)

Stunts
Big Island Stunts: Small Island Stunts:
 * 1) Generator's Cave
 * 2) Big Island's Water Level Cave
 * 3) Big Island's West Side Cave
 * 4) Triple Stone Arch Northwest Exit
 * 5) Triple Stone Arch Top Exit
 * 1) Small Island's Water Level Cave
 * 2) Small Island's Top Exit